Apparatus for coating fine particles to produce thermal transfer image receiving sheet method of producing thermal transfer image receiving sheet and thermal transfer image receiving sheet produced thereby

Abstract

An apparatus for coating fine particles to produce a thermal transfer image receiving sheet having: a base material supply section 1 for supplying a paper base material; a coating storage section 21 for storing a coating including white fine particles; a development section 2 having a sleeve 22 for holding the coating supplied from the coating storage section 21, a blade 23 for controlling a thickness of the coating held by the sleeve 22, a charge drum 24 having a photosensitive material for absorbing the coating in a dispersed manner from the sleeve 22, and a dot latent image forming device 25 for forming a dispersed dot latent image on the charge drum 24 by irradiating a laser beam to the charge drum 24 to absorb the coating on the charge drum 24 in said dispersed manner on the basis of the dispersed dot latent image; a transfer section 3 for electrostatically transferring the coating absorbed by the charge drum 24 onto the paper base material in the dispersed manner; a fixing section 4 having a heat roller and a press roller, and for fixing the transferred coating on the paper base material; and an ejection section 5 for ejecting the paper base material on which the coating is fixed by the fixing section 4.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A thermal transfer image receiving sheet comprising: a base paper material; and   a receptor layer coating membrane formed on the base paper material, the receptor layer membrane including a plurality of white particles formed on the base paper material in accordance with a predetermined dot latent image, such that the predetermined dot latent image is formed by arranging a plurality of dots in a dispersed and discontinuous manner.   
     
     
       2. The thermal transfer image receiving sheet according to claim 1, wherein the receptor layer coating membrane is formed by arranging a pluralilty of dots of the white particles in accordance with the predetermined dot latent image, and a diameter of each of the plurality of dots of the white particles is not more than half of a diameter of each of a plurality of print dots formed at the time of printing. 
     
     
       3. The thermal transfer image receiving sheet according to claim 1, wherein the receptor layer coating membrane is formed by placing the white fine particles on the predetermined dot latent image formed on a charge drum, and then transferring the white fine particles from the charge drum onto the base paper material.